House Finance Committee Opposes RBC Takeover of HSBC
As reported in the Globe and Mail, the finance committee in the House of Commons voted yesterday to call on the government to block the takeover of HSBC Canada by RBC. The vote passed unanimously.
In a report tabled by the House finance committee late Wednesday evening, the group recommended that Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland – who has the final say on the deal – reject the merger. Each of the six opposition party members on the committee voted in favour of the motion, while the six Liberals abstained.
The Conservative-led motion said that Canada’s competitive “intensity” is in decline, that the small number of financial institutions in the Canadian banking sector represents a lack of competition and that the loss of a lender could cause banking fees to rise.
The RBC takeover of HSBC has become a hot potato of a political issue, with the leader of the federal Conservative Party coming out against the takeover last week, saying it will remove banking competition just at a time when Canadians need relief on affordability.